IN THIS ISSUE:

O Book Update
O Moments to remember
O May Calendar
O Issues and programming ideas for May
O List of Finals Week Programs on the site
O Tell your new staff members about ResidentAssistant.com!
O Have a great summer!

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O BOOK UPDATE O

We have finalized the publication date of “InspiRAtion for RAs.” The book will be published July 1, and you can have your copies by mid-July if you preorder now. The following story is a timely excerpt from the book…

O MOMENTS TO REMEMBER O

This story is an excerpt from our new book, “InspiRAtion for RAs,” which is a collection of humorous, encouraging and motivational stories for RAs, by RAs. I feel it is an appropriate story to share with all of you as the year winds down.

MOMENTS TO REMEMBER

As RAs, we hold a unique position where we rarely see the rewards for our hard work. Seldom will we see our residents graduate, become their Sorority Presidents, or even be elected the Homecoming King for that matter. As we journey through our college experience holding this position, I have found it is important to live for the moment, being sure to cherish the incredible experiences that face you every day. I once told someone that while some people collect books, videos, photographs, or even animals, the most important thing I have found to collect is memories. When looking back on your RA experience now, or in the years to come, see if you can find these memories that have made such a difference in who you were, and who you became along the way.

Remember the countless hours of learning all of the duties and responsibilities that you would be expected to perform. You were probably overwhelmed by the idea of learning all of your residents’ names, let alone all the resources your campus had to offer. As you frantically tried to finish all your door decorations and bulletin boards before the residents arrived, I bet you wondered if you were cut out to be a student leader, or even a successful student on top of this job.

You probably felt as though you didn’t know what you were doing, yet a resident came up to you asking how you became the person they wanted to be. They may have joined the Hall Council because of you. They might have even become an RA on your staff a year later. It was at that moment when you realized that no one had it all worked out, and that those you looked up to were probably just as unsure of themselves and as disorganized as you were. But either way, you were going to make it!

Although you probably thought you had been well trained and that you were ready to handle any situation, you were faced with the resident who came to you upset one night, and you weren’t sure where to start. You stayed up with that resident all night listening to them, never once thinking about the mountain of homework you had, or the friends you were suppose to meet for coffee. And even though you thought you had been nothing more than a shoulder to cry on, you had became one of that residents’ best friends.

You realized it was naive to think that every one of your residents would be a role model. As much as you feared doing it, you were faced with the dilemma of calling a resident on his or her actions. At the time, the fear was unimaginable yet you stayed your ground. You knew that your actions, although harsh, served a greater good. The second time you were placed in that situation, you were stronger because of it.

As you learned the effective art of time management, you began to allow moments to “just happen” rather than trying to plan them weeks in advance. Every so often, you and a group of residents would chat around pizza until two in the morning. Who could forget nights of watching “Billy Madison” or “Tommy Boy” for the 18

You may not have grown up with brothers or sisters, or in a family as large as that of your hall staff. Having dinner in the cafeteria together, staying up all night philosophizing on life, or debating which was coolest toy when growing up; you began to realize that you had never been closer to a group a people as the fellow RAs and Hall Directors that you worked with. They had become closer than just friends, maybe even closer than family in some regards. As you look back, you take comfort in the fact that many of them are still your friends, and will continue to be.

Every day you were working, living, and playing with a group of people as close as your RA staff and it always led to strong friendships within the group.

Sometimes those friendships became deeper as time went by. Looking back, I’m sure may of you can think of one who almost seemed perfect in every way. They were more than just an infatuation because the two of you shared so much of your life together already. Whether they are now a broken heart or they’re sitting right beside you, you cherish the RA position for having brought the two of you together.

Although you always tried to be successful in your position, there were undoubtedly the times where everything that could go wrong, did. Perhaps it was a Homecoming float that completely fell apart the night before the parade, or your program that attracted everyone you could hope for, except for your guest speaker. While at the time it seemed as though it was the end of the world, looking back the experience just make you giggle to yourself how silly it was to get worked up over something so small. The true meaning was not behind how everything turned out, but the fun it was doing it.

As you finished your final months as an RA, you may have been quite taken back by the experience. The staff you were working with was far different than the people who welcomed you aboard. You had made numerous accomplishments, overcome challenges, and now, you were a leader to those just beginning their journey.

As you left your room, your floor, and your hall for the last time, you were upset by the fact that this was good-bye, but deep down, you acknowledged that you were excited too. For you would miss the experiences and people that had helped shape you through your college experience, you were now ready for the new destinations that lie ahead.
Jason Borges - Resident Assistant
Arizona State University

If you would like more information about “InspiRAtion for RAs,” or would like to order the book, go to: /archive/inspiration

O MAY CALENDAR! O

I’ll bet you didn’t know May is . . . Flower Month, Older American’s Month, American Bike Month, Mental Health Month, Correct Posture Month (sit up straight while you read this email!), Good Carkeeping Month, National Physical Fitness & Sports Month, National Barbeque Month, National Hamburger Month, Personal History Awareness Month, Revise Your Work Schedule Month & Asian/Pacific-American Heritage Month, to name a few!

May 1 - May Day
May 4 - National Day of Prayer
May 4 - National Teacher’s Day
May 5 - Cinco de Mayo
May 6 - Children’s Day (Japan)
May 8 - No Socks Day
May 11 - Eat what you want day
May 13 - Our lady of Fatima Day (Portuguese)
May 14 - Mother’s Day
May 15 - Victoria Day (Canada)
May 15 - International Family Day
May 18 - Visakaha Day (Buddhist)
May 20 - Armed Forces Day
May 23 - Declaration of the Bab (Baha’i)
May 25 - Africa Freedome Day
May 29 - Memorial Day
May 30 - Wesak (Buddhism)
May 31 - Tobacco Free Day

Check out

-O- ISSUES AND IDEAS -O-

Issues:

o Academic pressures (FINALS!!!)
o Anxiety over leaving friends/school environment o Moving out o Job panic o End of the year partying

Programming Ideas:

o Exam breaks o Floor meetings o Career Services

Here are a few more programs on the website:

Destress with YOGA:
/archive/programming/social/yoga.htm 

Yell like hell:
/archive/programming/social/epsyelllikehell.htm 

Stress Relievers:
/archive/programming/social/stressrelievers.htm 

Jiggle your jolllies:
/archive/programming/emotional/jigglejollies.htm 

Mind, Body and Soul:
/archive/programming/emotional/mindbodysoul.htm 

Final exam scream:
/archive/programming/social/finalscream.htm 

Feeling Stressed?:

Smooth Your Life:

Study Breaker:

Go to the ResidentAssistant.com homepage and do a search for “finals” and you will find these and other great programs.

O TELL SOMEBODY!

Because of the revolving nature of the RA position, the continued growth of this site depends on YOU telling your new staff members about it. Please spread the word to your new staff members, and mention it in training, or in your training materials if you will be involved in that next year.

O SUMMER NEWS AND ADVICE:

The website and listserve will continue to be active over the summer. If you want to swap ideas over the summer, it may be a good idea to sign up on the list-serve: /archive/discussion/index.htm 

As you hopefully are already thinking, the summer is a great time to spare your self some work for next year. Start planning programming, making door tags, collecting supplies for bulletin boards, etc.

In trying to take my own advice, I am looking for feature articles for

next year's newsletters and for the website. If any of you are willing to write an article, please email it via the contact page

O Have a great summer, and thanks for making ResidentAssistant.com grow into a great resource for all of us!!